Author convicted in Ariz. sweat lodge deaths

An Arizona jury has convicted self-help author James Arthur Ray of three counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of three people who died at his sweat-lodge event near Sedona in October 2009. He was acquitted on three counts of the more serious charge of manslaughter.

The sweat lodge was the culmination of a five-day "Spiritual Warrior" retreat at the Angel Valley resort near Sedona, for which some 50 participants had paid up to $10,000 each to attend.

Participants in the sweat lodge gathered in a long, low, wood-framed structure covered with blankets and tarps. Stones were heated on a fire outside, then brought in by volunteers before each of eight roughly 15-minute rounds and placed in a hole near the center. Ray controlled the length and number of rounds, the number of stones used and how much water he poured over them to create steam.

The three participants who died were Kirby Brown, 38; James Shore, 40; and Liz Newman, 49.

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